How to establish a carbon reduction strategy – Smart2Circle x Tapio

Smart2Circle is a sustainable strategy and circular economy consultancy. Led by founder and CEO Stéphanie Fellen, its team allows companies to define and implement their sustainable strategy. Its clients include SMEs and major groups such as Decathlon, EXKi, John Cockerill, Eloy, Evs, ArcelorMittal and EVS.

A collaborative approach

Smart2Circle’s approach consists of several phases.

Through collective intelligence workshops, Smart2Circle first gives the company’s employee it is supporting the opportunity to express their vision of what a sustainable company is and to share their ideas. “This inclusive dimension is fundamental. It’s part of a real co-construction process”, explains the CEO.

The firm then supports the company in drawing up an action plan. In terms of CO₂, this involves reducing its own emissions as much as possible, and then deciding how to offset the remaining emissions.

Finally, it supports its customers in communicating about sustainability, in particular using labelled CSR reporting.

Mapping of emissions

Each mission begins with the preparation of a carbon report to measure precisely where its emissions come from. “As a scientist by training, I need facts and figures before initiating any process”, explains Stéphanie Fellen.

To carry out this task, Smart2Circle chose Tapio. The platform enables the firm to collect the data needed to draw up the balance sheet and calculate the company’s impact. “Collecting data can be complex, especially when there’s a large amount of it. Tapio’s technology makes it possible to reduce the margin of error,” emphasises the CEO.

Setting reduction targets

Smart2Circle also calls on Tapio’s expertise at other stages of the process. Particularly when it comes to working with companies to define reduction measures.

The platform can then be used to create the corresponding scenarios and check in a matter of seconds whether the plans envisaged will enable the objectives to be achieved. “This stage is extremely important for our customers, and this is where Tapio’s added value really shines through”, explains Stephanie Fellen. “The teams can see very concretely what their impact can be. This helps them to really take action.”

She goes on to explain how the tool developed by Tapio makes it possible to build a realistic, well-constructed and dynamic reduction plan. “The different settings and the ability to take account of the company’s future growth provide a very clear vision,” says the CEO.

She mentions as examples RTL Belgium and sports equipment manufacturer Idema, two companies that the Smart2Circle/Tapio partnership has recently helped to launch on a low-carbon trajectory.

The need to take action

More and more managers understand the need to embark on this path. Smart2Circle gives a concrete dimension to their ambitions so that decarbonisation does not remain at the conceptual stage in their company.

The challenge is to keep the objective at the top of the agenda, given the financial and human resources that transforming a model sometimes requires. “It’s going to be a long battle”, says Stephanie Fellen. “But more than just a tool, in Tapio we have found a partner with whom we share a vision and values”.

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